Rosto the Piper
by Little Scissor
Summary: Terrier in Rosto's Point of View. A REWRITE OF ROSTO THE PIPER: PART OF THE BROOD.
1. Wednesday, April 1, 246

**This is a rewrite of my Rosto the Piper fanfic. I want to see which one you like more. I admit, there are some things I like more about my first version but my writing style has changed a bit. Remember this version isn't edited yet so there may be a few changes if you decide that you like this version better. The changes won't be big, just a few things here and there. **

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**_(Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, the major plot and some of the dialogue but most of the subplots belong to me.) _**

**Wednesday, April 1, 246**

The city was rather stunning compared to what everything was like in Scanra. I liked the air of the city and the noise. It made me feel a little more alive, more than I had felt in a long time. Everything was so active even in the morning when my companions and I arrived. I could tell that I was going to like this place.

I looked over at the smallest mot flanking me. She was sleek and very cat like. Her hair was brown and she wore a blue dress that seemed to be a little over doing in to me. I could tell by the look in her eyes that she was thrilled to be in the city of Corus. Kora always wanted to get away from Scanra. She claimed that the entertainment was low and wanted some place where we had variety, though I knew her real reason.

The other mot, a tall blond, swords-woman didn't mind leaving Scanra. It was too boring for her anyway. She wanted excitement. Aniki was a seeker of entertainment and challenges. She came for that reason and I was sure she was going to like our stay here. I watched as she wrapped a hand around that sword she prized and looked at the scene before her. Her face twitched as she gripped the hilt tightly. She was itching to be set loose upon the city. Whether here intentions were good or bad, I wasn't sure.

I had heard good things about Corus. It was lively and full of crime. We liked crime - well more Aniki and me than Kora. She wanted to be a basic hedge witch but we knew she would have our backs when we need it.

Her eyes watched and darted around the city as though she were trying to keep up with everything that was going on. I turned back to the scene before me and saw that everything here was much better than in Scanra already. People were completely without food and it seemed to be thriving just fine. I saw a few rushers passing by and a few thieves picking pockets with ease.

This was definitely a good place to start new.

It was lucky for us that we decided to pack lightly during our journey because the streets were far more crowded that what we were used to. If we had taken heavier packs we would have had a hard time maneuvering but we didn't have much to begin with other than clothes and money.

"We need to find a place to stay first," Kora said to us. "I would not like to carry my pack around."

"Rosto," Aniki said. I could almost hear the smirk in her voice. "Why don't you carry our packs? You're supposed to be a man, right?"

"I am a man," I told her. "That is why I refuse to be your pack animal." Aniki and Kora snickered at me. "And well-bred gentleman only stoops so low to be a pack animal. I am my own sort of gentleman."

"You definitely were not well-bred," Kora laughed. I frowned. I would never get anywhere with my mots. They always felt the need to pull me off my high horse whenever I just climbed back up. "Seriously, though, let's find a place for a bit of rest. Traveling is really tiresome and my feet are starting to hurt."

We picked our way around the city. Kora had to stop and ask someone for the nearest inn so we could rest ourselves. I hated to admit it, but I was a bit weary myself and a quick sleep sounded nice to me. I was glad when Kora finally put her foot down and asked for directions. I knew Aniki was too, we were just too full of pride to admit that we needed help.

The inn was a few stories in height and fairly large for an inn. They must have gotten a lot of customers in the city. I could tell that the in had been smaller once but they just added one of the other buildings to it to make it larger. Whatever the case, I was happy to be there and hoped that there was at least one room open for me and my mots. We were lucky; there were enough for the three of us to have our own and then some.

Right after we got our keys, we all went into our separate rooms. I was unsure of what the mots did but I decided on taking a nice warm bath first. The innkeeper's daughter, who was no older than twelve, filled my bath for me. I thanked her kindly and tipped her a silver coin. I planned to get a few more silver - whatever they called it here in Corus. The gixie thanked me and ran off.

I soaked in the bath until it turned cold. My skin had wrinkled but I was clean of all the dirt and dust I collected during my travels. I felt light like the weight of dirt had been holding me down. I looked back at the dirty bath water...maybe it had.

Dressing into cleaner clothes and arming myself properly with my daggers, I threw myself on my bed. I pulled the knife from one of my packs and held it under my pillow. I couldn't relax too much here in the city. It was new territory after all.

When I woke again, it was nearly sundown. I stretched and put my knife back in my packs. The innkeepers could turn down my bed whenever they felt like it and I wouldn't like to surprise them with my knife, so I stored it back where I knew it should be safe. I stretched my slightly stiff body as best as I could, reaching my hands to the ceiling. I must have slept in one position the whole time. Normally, I would adjust myself while sleeping in order to find the most comfortable spot but I must have been too tired to do that.

I was greeted with a knock on the door. I opened it to see Aniki and Kora standing there looking refreshed. Their hair was wet from a bath. The looked over me and smirked. "Rosto would bathe before sleeping in bed." I rolled my eyes at them. Already with the teasing. "We want to explore and find a place for something to eat," Aniki said. "We are starving."

My stomach had to agree with them. "Anything we are looking for in particular?" I asked, looking pointedly at Kora. She always wanted to look for something.

She gave me a sweet smile. "A good herbalist," she said. "I would like to start making some honest coin at some point before making some dishonest coin." We left for the still crowded city, stopping and vendors and shops whenever one of my mots found something that they were interested in. I spent my time observing the city and trying to avoid the pigs that tried to escape their fate from the butchers. Even though it was getting darker out children still ran around the streets laughing and chasing each other. Some mothers called for their children, telling them it was time for bed.

The children slowly went away and the pigs were forced back into the butchers arms. Me and my mots continued our self guided tour of the city. My mots were excited though they seemed composed. I could read them well, after being with them for so long.

"Can we get something to eat now?" I asked as the mots tried to run off to another shop. I grabbed them both by the arms to stop them. It was risky on my part but my stomach was starting to growl at me. "We can continue this after we eat something." And possibly get something to drink, I thought to myself. I forgot how much Kora and Aniki loved looking at weapons and medicine and whatever it was they were looking at.

They didn't argue. We went to find some place to eat and settled on the first place we came across. It was called Mantel and Pullet, just down Pottage Lane. When we walked in, the first thing I noticed was that it was crawling with dogs. A few of them watched us as we sat down at a table that was open. I had done nothing wrong so there was no reason for the curs to bite.

"What will we be having today?" I asked my mots. They were looking around slowly, eyeing every face in the place. I did the same.

"We don't know anything about this place," Aniki pointed out. "We are going to have to ask." I nodded. She had a point. We hadn't even been here a whole day, there was no way we'd find out what they served for food there. One of the barmaids helped us with our order as well as fluttered her lashes at me. The food was good, we ate every last bit of our order and decided to stay for a bit. People came in and out of the eating house, most of them were dogs, and some were just hard working people.

"I could use something heavy," Aniki said. Kora nodded. I stood and told them I would grab something. I went to the bar and saw a young blond gixie standing by the bar. She was pretty faced with a fine nose and fairly good cheekbones. Her eyes were light, blue-gray and interesting. They reminded me of the ice in Scanra. She was a few inches shorter than me with good shoulders, from what I could see with that uniform on. She was a puppy. I tried not to smile at the sight of the white trim. That poor puppy was going to get clobbered.

"What of you, pretty Puppy?" he asked, leering at her as he gave her the jacks that had two names burned into them: Tunstall and Goodwin. I assumed that they were her Dogs. "A nice strong ale to loosen your belt? Wine for your first day?"

The gixie didn't look at the man while she answered, politely "Barley water, sir, if you please."

The barkeep didn't seem very happy about her request. "You're joking," he said with a flat voice.

"No, Master Barkeep. Barley water, please," she repeated. I was starting to get impatient. I just wanted something strong for the night.

Of course, the barkeep had to feel offend by the pretty gixie's choice of drink. "You've something against my good brown ale? Strong enough to stick a spoon in! 'Tis good enough for and Dog or soldier as walks through that door, good enough that the King himself, gods save him, has drunk it, whilst you turn up that dainty nose-"

I had just about enough. I wanted some of that ale and I had been waiting long enough for a good drink. I leaned over, just past the gixie and knocked on the plank bar to get the attention of the angry cove. "Listen, keg tapper. Rather than waste time yapping at a pretty girl who's not interested, why not occupy yourself pouring out for me and my ladies, and let her be about her business?"

The gixie glanced at me and stepped to one side. She eyed me as though she was taking in my appearance just like my mots and I did with everyone who walked through that door, save her and her dogs. I didn't see them come in. They must have slipped in while Aniki, Kora, and I were talking about our plans for the week - it mostly consisted of finding a permanent place to live.

A barmaid gave her a mug and eyed me suggestively as she said something to the Puppy. I received the drinks I asked for and brought them back to my mots.

"Took you long enough," Aniki said. I looked back to where the Puppy was sitting. Her Dogs seemed to be giving her a hard time and she kept her eyes down. Gixies like that one shouldn't have been in Dog training. "I see, a pretty girl. Careful, she is a puppy."

"I have no interest in her," I told Aniki with a wink. "I've got you and Kora after all." I took a sip of the ale and nodded at the quality. "That barkeep had a right to brag about his ale. It's good." I felt eyes on me a few times that night. I knew the Puppy and her Dogs were talking of us. We must have looked suspicious...of course we did. We didn't try to blend in much, did we?

We went back to the inn after having a few rounds of ale. Anymore then someone would have to be carrying us back to the inn.


	2. Thursday, April 2, 246

This should have been up last week but my parents had to take away my computer during our "Family visit" which is over a week long. So that was rather annoying but I did manage to write this all by hand. I'll have to go back an edit it as well as the first one. I will post another chapter next week, at some point. I'll have to make a standard day once I start getting really into writing this. Thanks for reading and thanks for the reviews to the first chapter. Once I finish this I'll go back and edit everything to make it better.  


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**_(Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, the major plot and some of the dialogue but most of the subplots belong to me.) _**

**Thursday April 2, 246**

When I woke in the morning, I realized my bed was cold from the lack of extra bodies. The mots decided to sleep in their own rooms last night, leaving me alone. I didn't really mind but I like the extra warmth that Kora or Aniki provided on cold nights.

I shivered in the cold. The fire had gone out and I was sure the innkeepers weren't up. It was well before dawn. My sleeping patterns had been thrown off during our travels and I knew I couldn't get back to sleep not now. Instead, I got up before the cold took any affect on my rather naked body.

What happened to my loin cloth? That was just a passing thought while I dressed myself. I checked myself for daggers to make sure they were all in place, and put my coin purse on my belt before walking out.

I've come to a conclusion about the city as I walked out of the inn; it hardly ever sleeps. There was activity going on late and night all the way to early morning.

When I walked out of the inn, I was nearly knocked over by a young man loaded with crates. He was so busy concentrating on carrying them he didn't noticed me plucking an apple from the top and moving on my way. I wanted to see the city before everything opened up.

I still have to weave my way through and around people who all decided would be the best to stand around and gossip. Especially the mothers, who were talking while keeping a keen eye on their children but it didn't seem like they noticed anything else. Like a young handsome cove like myself trying to get through. It was hard to find a path through the animals and the gossiping women but I managed to find my way. It was all about getting used to.

Kora, Aniki and I spent a good amount of the year traveling but never through large cities like this unless we needed the money. We would stop by a city to take a few coin purses or so but we wanted to keep a low profile until we came to Corus. Even in Scanra, there weren't so many people or animals about the city. We were striving there. All the animals were use for breeding in hope that they could produce more. The mots and I left before any progress was made.

Holderman street was fairly wide compared to the lanes I had been on this morning. It was obvious that carts could fit down this road yet in a lane; they would get stuck because they were far narrower than Holderman. I turned down Stormwing Street to Westberk where I knew Mantel and Pullet was near. I remember taking Westberk to the eating house last night. Already, people were stating to wake. Children were walking out of their homes to start their morning choes while their mothers made them breakfast. Well, at least the ones that weren't about. Most of the children coming out of the homes still had sand in their eyes and were rubbing it out.

The city was rousing into the busy bustle it was in yesterday. It made it easier to find my way to the Day Market. I knew my mots would be up soon and they would be hungry. That was when they were at their worst. So I thought I would get on their good side by bringing them breakfast. The Market, despite the early morning, was already crowded. I was fairly lost in the chaos until I realized that there were sections and rows containing specific items. The markets were very organized here. In Scanra, you had to hold a stand in order to get it. So it was never in any real order.

I picked my way through carefully, trying to find something delicious for breakfast. First, I picked up a bottle of twisley, knowing that if I brought brandy, Aniki would guy me with that sword of hers. Maybe not that extreme but still, I was working on getting on their good side. After paying for the bottle, I asked the seller, "Where could I find sommat good for two hungry mots and a cove, such as myself, in the morning?"

"Mistress Noll's is a good start for pastries and other baked goods," the man told me. "You new to the city?"

"Indeed, I am," I said to him. "Else wise, I'd just be an idiot." The man laughed at my good humor and pointed me on my way. I thanked him and followed his directions, stopping at a few other sellers for a breakfast turnover and some fresh fruit. My last stop was Mistress Noll's stand.

A large plump woman stood behind the counter, her graying hair, braided, pinned and coiled. She was pulling some fresh cinnamon rolls from the oven, and she smiled when she saw me. "Morning," she greeted. "It's nice to see younger folk up and about at this time of day. I myself have a hard time getting my son, Yates, out of bed." She sighed. "He stays out so late and doesn't get in until early morning, if at all."

"Maybe he has a lady to keep him warm at night," I said to her while browsing through her selection of food. It all looked and smelled so good.

The woman laughed at my comment. "A mother can only hope," she said, still laughing. "Anything looking good to you?" I picked out three apple pastries and three of her freshly glazed cinnamon rolls. I thanked her and went about my way, bring the food back to the inn. I kicked Kora and Aniki's doors and told them to get up already. It was well past dawn.

They arrived in my room not looking pleased until they saw the food I had out for them. We all sat where ever we could, eating until everything was gone. Mistress Noll's food was great, especially since it was still warm. That was when it was the best. Kora and Aniki spoke very little, still tired about being woken up in the morning after a long night of drinking.

"We should go to the Day Market," I told Kora. "Maybe we'll find some herbs for you." That seemed to brighten Kora's mood. "Then after lunch, we should head to the Rogue. I've been hearing thing about this Rogue," I told them. There was a lot of chatter in the day market about the Rogue and I wanted to hear if they were true or not. Mostly, I wanted to see if he was worth the time. Aniki seemed to perk up at the sound of finding the Rogue. She wanted some work and I knew she was restless if she didn't get any.

"Well," Aniki said. "Let's get eating then. Personally, I wasn't to meet this Rogue." The mots ate while I thought. I hope this Rogue was better than the scut in Scanra. Even if he was a lot like the Scanran rogue, life in the city would still be better than back there. We would just have to deal with him at another time.

Once we finished, I stored our food in my packs and followed the mots to the day market. Now children were running wild, weaving through people, laughing. One ran into my leg. She looked up at me with round blue eyes before running away. We went around looking for herbs. Kora found some decent places but she was more interested in the gossip of one of the evening watch puppies who had unfortunately fallen in a pile of fish leftings.

Beka Cooper was her name – the girl with the ghost eyes, people say. She must have been the one at the eating house last night. "She's still learning," Kora said to a cove who was laughing at the Puppy's expense. "Not all Puppies are meant do it right and it's usually the ones that make the mistakes who learn not to fall for them again. They are the hardest to fool and will hobble you one day." Kora had moment when she saw the best in everyone. She also didn't seem to like the obnoxious cove who was trying to flirt with her. She was sort of right with her defenses of the Puppy. There were some Dogs would learned from mistakes while there were others who didn't. They were usually the cocky ones and were killed easily.

Kora seemed pleased with her gossip by the time it was lunch. Apparently, hedge witches really liked the talk of the city and would share while buying herbs. I guess most woman bonded though shopping.

We found ourselves a meat seller. He cooked our roast and served it with some potatoes and salted carrots. The mots and I topped it off with a glazed pastry from Mistress Noll, only she wasn't there. Her daughter Gemma was there in her place. A cove with a less than pleasant face watched us like a hawk. I discovered shortly that he was Yates. I held back a snort at the sight of him. No wonder why Mistress Noll had said "A mother could only wish," she would have to wish a lot for that young slime to find a mot that wasn't so disgusted by him. Though, I never would say that aloud unless vexed by the cove.

"Time to meet the Rogue," Aniki said. She was practically dragging us into, what the locals called, the Cesspool. The further in we walked the less appealing the place looked. The Cesspool was probably the best name for such a place. There were mumpers everywhere. People were lying at the side of the roads, sleeping or dead, I couldn't tell. They all smelled the same in this area of the lower city. The children were all underfed and possibly on the verge of death but they would come around to us with their eyes big and round begging for money.

I felt bad but I wasn't going to give them money in groups. I knew their type. They would follow me around the minute I gave them some coin. If it were just one and we weren't surrounded my hungry, sick folk, I would have probably given them a silver.

The animals in the cesspool were also a sad bunch of beasts. They were thinner than a rod barely alive. At one point, they were probably meaty and worth sommat but there was nothing for them here. A lot of them were rotting away in the filth, rotting with all of the people rotting. They should have gone for the Rogue for some help. He was there to help people in need, right? Why weren't they doing anything?

On Festive Lane, which was anything but festive, there was a large, black stone building that looked as if a Moneybag once lived there. There were rushers crawling around the place, which was the first sign of the Rogue. This had to be our place. It was a rather cold environment for the likes of a Rogue. Even though it was in this pile of filth one could tell it used to belong to a noble during the earlier years.

Guards in leather stood watch by the high wall with crossbows ready when needed. Iron torches flared on the holders in the wall and inside the building. The guards caught sight of us and thoroughly checked us. One of them tried sommat with Aniki and she gave him a good tongue lashing. She let them take her sword and stomped through the open gates. I followed after her and Kora with a satisfied smirk.

That's my Aniki.

Inside the building, there were dirt and smoke stains along the walls, the hand carved pillars and wooden moldings. The hall we took was filled with petitioners, armsmen who watched for trouble in the Court of Rogue, thieves, rushers, and occasional trollops here and there – even some men who sold their bodies for a bit of coin. Some of them stood in nothing but loincloths while the women wore low cut dresses that were too tight on them or revealed too much.

We entered the great hall, or what was once a great hall. I had been in many castles in my day (doing nothing good, that's for sure) so I knew most rooms when I saw one. There were doxies and rushers everywhere, mostly together doxies and rusher paired. A few of the doxies gazed me fully before winking at me. My confidence grew more than it already was.

Atop the platform, on a makeshift throne of old wood and furniture pieces, sat a blubbery cove in his forties, balding of his short brown hair. He had a smooth arch of a nose that he looked down with blue eyes. There were lines of aging on his face, around his eyes and mouth mostly. He wore a black pearly drop in one ear that was fairly large. I thought it would rip his lobe right off by the way it was drooping down. In the other ear he wore a silver hoop, and had a gold ring with a sapphire the size of an egg on his finger. The man was nothing if not gaudy on all accounts. I had to assume that this man was the rogue by the way the rushers stood around him.

I was slightly annoyed at the sight of him. He was not only gaudy but cocky. He had a slight sound in his voice that made me want to spit at him. Of course, doing such a thing could lead to death or a mild punishment of having my tongue cut off. So I used my sense and did nothing but watch.

The rusher around him seemed to also play an important roll in his court. There were the Rogue Chiefs, were called Ulsa and Dawull. Ulsa was a woman who liked expensive and nice things from the looks of it. Her shirts were made of silk and she seemed to clean up after herself. There was the redheaded Dawull. He seemed like a bugnob to me. Sure, he would have made a good wall, he was so large but how much brain did he have in that head of his?

Aniki, Kora, and I watched the man who called himself a Rogue. He was lazy, if anything. He rarely got off that throne of his, no wonder why he was so flabby. I wondered if he had any of his skill that I heard he had. At one point, he must have because there was no way he would have gotten the title of the Rogue if he hadn't. I was fairly annoyed with the man. Now I understood why nothing was done about the poor mumpers outside. The man was greedy.

Later in the evening, a pair of Dogs and their Puppy entered the room. The Dogs were comfortable in the midst of the rushers and the Puppy was passive. I couldn't really read her. The only thing I could see about her was that she was the one I indirectly met the other day. Her eyes were as chilling as before but I expected nothing less from it. It was a surprise to see them again at such an odd place.

They were coming closer to us, talking. Well, more like the Dogs were talking to their Puppy. "We get to wait," said the tall, owl-like man. His lips didn't really move while he spoke but we were close enough to hear what he was saying. "It's how he proves he's still the Rogue."

My tongue got the better of me. "Some Rogue," I drawled. I knew I wasn't heard by the Rogue or his chiefs but the Dogs and their Puppy looked at me. Recognition washed over the Puppy's face when she saw me. "Sits on his arse like a sarden king and bribes others to stand for him. I'd hope for someone livelier in charge here." But this Rogue was still better than the Rogue I had to deal with in Scanra. I didn't like either of them, though.

The older mot looked over at the Rogue who was whispering to the chief who sauntered up to him the minute he shooed away the slave trader. The owl-ish man went to talk to the female chief, Ulsa who greeted him with a smile and pulled out a chair with her foot. It seemed that these Dogs were well acquainted with the rushers.

The Dog left, the mot, sat down on her hunkerbones in front of me. She wasn't very tall, that's for sure but she had a very dominating air around her. I knew she was good at her job if she had to come here to the Court of Rogue, no doubt to collect the Happy Bag. "Now Laddybuck," she said, in a way that showed no signs of friendliness, "why don't you tell me what kind of lively you're looking for? I'll direct you where to find it, away from Corus." The smile she gifted me was as equally friendly as her tone. I smiled at her, nicely then looked at the owl man, and then to their Pretty Puppy. I had forgotten how pretty the gixie was. Her icy eyes turned away from me.

Kora nudged me while I still stared at the gixie. "Stop it, Rosto," she said. "Fidget someone who fidgets you back." She gave the Dog a nod. "He's Rosto the Piper. I'm Kora, and that's Aniki." Aniki lazily raised her hand in greeting. "We heard life was more . . . interesting . . . in Corus, so here we are." She gave the Dog a genuine smile.

"Scavangers always come looking where they heard of a feast. So far it's been long put off," the mot told us. "Kayfer – his chiefs – have done away with any challengers."

"Oh," I said, slightly amused that she said that the Rogue's Chiefs did the work not him. But all of that was kept inside. "We're not looking to challenge. We hope to be entertained. Scanra was that bare of entertainment."

Aniki seemed to do away with our talk my mentioning a cat. It was Kora who cut off her praising the sleek black cat by saying it had purple eyes. It was a god-marked cat. The cat seemed to like Kora. "He's the Puppy's," the Dog said, not taking her eyes off of us. "He's a clever beast." I wanted to doubt that but the cat had purple eyes. What beast had such a thing?

My attention strayed from the cat when I saw a mess of a man walk through the entrance. His clothes were crumpled and stained. His gaunt face was unshaven and his eyes were hollow. It looked as if he hadn't run a comb through his black hair in days, the snarls were terrible. I couldn't even imagine being such a mess. There were two men there with empty sword and dagger scabbards; no doubt they were taken from them.

The man started wailing about some shadow snake and how the Rogue took his child. It was a whole dramatic scene, I almost felt bad for the cracknob. Almost. At one point, the cracknob moved and I saw a print of a weapon against his tunic. Of course this man wouldn't come unarmed, even if he did have too men there. He wasn't a complete idiot. He was reaching into the folds of his clothes but I got there before anything bad happened and knocked the dagger from his hands before the chiefs could attempt to. I also took the time to grab a leather pouch while I patted him down for more weapons. I slipped the pouch into my boot and sauntered back.

I wasn't sure what happened, I guess I was too full of myself at the time. I didn't see the Puppy stoop down to pick up the baton she lost, which tangled with my legs. We fell in a tangled mess. "Dear, if you'd asked," I mumbled, "I'd've considered. You're a pretty thing with you look a cove in the eye." She stammered apologies to me while we untangled ourselves. So much for my grand save. I looked like a fool tangled with the Puppy. Kora and Aniki fussed over me, trying to straighten out my clothes but I could see in their eyes that they were laughing at me. I flashed them a disgruntled look, not because they were fussing over me but because I knew the Puppy had lifted the pouch from my boot. Slippery little thing.

The Puppy had been scolded for being clumsy, damn right she should've. While that was being settle, the Rogue himself came to me and offered me a hand. Kora and Aniki stopped when he did so and stood in their positions behind me. I took his hand. "The least I could do, Majesty. I saw the knife's shape against the old cuckoo's tunic. Sad work your guards done searching 'im, you ask me.'

The Rogue smiled at me. "You've a good eye. Are you and your gixies here lookin' for work? My gate crew goes for a swim tonight, unless they convince me they can make their way back into my good graces as wounded mumpers." That was a rather hard choice to make; death or alive as a beggar, starving.

"Majesty, you're not talking of breaking the law in violence before three Dogs, are you?" The owl man said. His voice was very polite. I found a vast difference between him and his partner who was openly aggressive and him. "We can't have that on our watch. Not when we're standing right here."

The Rogue looked up at the owl. He was rather tall, that man. I had to look up at him too. "Never a bit, Mattes Tunstall. Why don't you and Goodwin come settle our business. Young Rosto and I can talk later. Maybe extra sweetenin' will make it into this week's Happy Bag, to assure you I'd never do violence with the Doges out." He glanced at the Puppy and then pinched her cheek. The Puppy looked as if she were going to rip his hand off then shove down his throat. "Leave the Puppy. She doesn't look like she'll last." I was surprised the gixie didn't knife him right there. She had better control than some would. Maybe she would last longer than I thought before.

I was still a bit upset that she managed to steal from me so I decided to offer a bribe. "A nice trick, lifting that pouch from me," I said standing at her elbow. She didn't seem to care that I was there. "If you're a Fishpuppy like the gossip says, it's because you're so slippery. I don't suppose you'd take a silver noble to tell me what it is, once your Dogs have a look? From the fell it's gems, but it never hurts to be certain." Yes, I was showing that I was upset by mocking her. I was feeling put out by her trick.

She glared at me and looked away, not saying a word. "Not taking offense over a bit of bribery, are you?" I asked again, mocking her through my words this time. "On the very night your Dogs are here to collect their bribes from the Rogue?"

"That's different," she said. It was first time she had spoken directly to me. "That's for all the work everyone of us does, to keep the streets orderly. _You're_ asking me to sell out my Dogs."

I rocked back onto my heels not expecting such aggression from the gixie. "Hel-lo! It has a bark _and_ a bit!" It was rather startling. "Here I was think you're a mousy little bit. But you're not mousy, are you?" I wanted to play with her a bit. I lifted my hand but she blocked my arm before I could slap her. She then grabbed my wrist and dug her fingernail in a place where it hurt.

"Ow," I said feeling the pain worsen. I tried to yank my hand free but she had managed to dig her nail deeper into my skin. I was sure I was bleeding now.

"Rosto, you take shy as fearful Why would a coward become a Dog? There's easier ways for a pretty gixie to make a living." Aniki propped one elbow on my collarbone and leaned on me. She was digger her elbow into another point that hurt. Aniki smiled at the Puppy. I could tell she found the gixie to her liking. "Normally he's not thick about mots, but he's slow when they're not in love with him. Me and Kora had to knock him around until he got us figured out. Say you're sorry, Rosto and don't try to bribe the nice Puppy again."

"I'm sorry, all right? I'm _bleeding_." She had broken skin. The feisty little Pup. She had my blood on her thumb but she wiped it away on her breeches like it was sommat of routine for her. I pulled a handkerchief from my pocket and pressed it against the wound, where it was still bleeding.

The Puppy looked at Aniki and said, "Two days as a Dong and I've my first bribe off. I think it's a record." Well, it's good to know that the gixie had a sense of humor, I thought blandly to myself.

Aniki slapped me on the back of the head, her blue eyes laughing at me. "She's _shy_, cabbage head, not stupid."

"So I'm learning. What's your name, then, shy-not-stupid Puppy?" I asked. I had forgotten it from when it was mentioned earlier today. She didn't have to know that. She told me her name was Beka Cooper. Kora stepped in holding the Purple eyed cat saying that she had heard of Beka's mother being an herbalist. She asked for advice on where to buy herbs. We all ended up jumping into the conversation about herbs, save Aniki who drifted away to gamble a bit.

I asked her how the Rogue worked. He may have had harsh punishments but he didn't seem to follow through with them. I mean, this Crookshank fellow should have been doused right then and there before the Rogue. I said as much to her when she asked me about how things were done in Scanra. I happily told her of what I'd witnessed once with that drunken cove. Poor cove had it coming.

Her Dogs came back and left the court. The Rogue presented the mots and me with guard duty for the time but said that we might be finding good offers soon. I sure hoped so. Kora did so to make a few extra coin so she could buy some herbs but she wasn't going to accept any offers that came her way. Kora was always the good one of us three but she wasn't so good to completely join the Dogs. She was comfortable where she was.

We stood guard, patting people down before anything came to. It was boring but we made our fair of coin when the night ended and a new round of guards came through. Me and my mots made it back to the inn two hours before dawn and settled into our rooms for the night. It looked like another cold morning for me.


	3. Friday, April 3, 246

This is a poorly written chapter, I know that. I've got to go back and rewrite it. Maybe I should start handwriting my fanfics first because my writing comes out better when I hand write anything. And it probably doesn't help that I haven't been feeling well. Anyway, I'll be rewriting this chapter soon. Very soon. Possibly before I post the next chapter.

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**_(Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, the major plot and some of the dialogue but most of the subplots belong to me.) _**

**Friday, April 3, 246**

It was another cold morning and I was, yet again, the first to wake up. Since I had something in mind to do today, it didn't bother me. I dressed quickly and left the inn in search of Beka Cooper. She may not have been awake at the time. Everyone had heard of how she took down Orva who was running on Hot-blooded wine. She chased that woman all around the cesspool and had to walk her back to Jane Street. Poor gixie was probably exhausted if not sore. But I have to say, I'm impressed with her determination. Beka Cooper was going to be the dog people needed to watch for. She was going to be trouble for us rushers one day.

The streets were waking up as the people set off to do their daily work. I walked around, not entirely knowing where to go. I saw a group of gixies talking; they were probably in their later teenage years. "'Scuse me," I said the ladies as I approached. They turned to me, some flirted with seductive smiles while the others blushed bashfully. It was a rather mixed group. "Does anyone know where I can find Beka Cooper?"

The ladies seemed put off that I was in search of a different gixie. One of them answered, she seemed to be the shiest of the girls but I was glad when she spoke up. "Nipcopper Close," she said to me."Off Westerberk," she clarified.

"Thank you," I said. I gave her a wink before I left. The other gixies were jealous of the attention I gave her. It wasn't much attention to be honest, I could give her much more if she wanted. She was a pretty little thing, that one was but at that moment, my mind was focused on one gixie, and that was Beka.

My curiosity was getting the better of me. I needed to know what sort of gems were in the pouch. I would be satisfied, a little, after she told me. I was going to bribe her again. When I turned onto Nipcopper Close, spotting her was not hard. She was being attacked by little children throwing rotten vegetables at her. The were yelling at her to bring back their mama.

Were these children daft? Their mother deserved to be thrown in the cages for beating them and their sad old man. I got close enough to hear Beka's lecturing, "Your mam did a bad thing when she struck a dog with a knife," she said to the oldest gixie. "There's no forgiving under the King's law. You draw a blade on a Dog, the Magistrate sends you to prison. If your mama behaves, she'll come home one day. But she was going to prison the moment she attacked Guardswoman Goodwin with steel."

I decided to step in because it didn't look like the brats were convinced with her words. "Here, you beggars – you've done enough damage! Scat!" I reached into my coin purse to grab a couple coins. It was satisfy them for a while. "Be grateful you're still alive to cry for your ma. Be gratefuller still you da has two eyes in his head yet." I flipped the coins at them causing them to each reach up and grab the copper. If it would have landed, it would have been lost in the mucky streets. After collecting their money, they ran away.

I sauntered up to Beka, who a giving me a skeptical look. Her clothes were riddled with rotten veggie. I took the charm that Kora made Aniki and I wear to keep the muck off our clothes. It was less laundry work she's have to do that way. "Here," I said to Beka. "Kroa made it for me, to get stains out of my clothes. She does very good charms, our Kora." I looked around at the houses behind her. It looked like a fairly nice place to live. I know Kora and Aniki would love it. "Nice neighborhood, this. Handy to the markets and the riverfronts." It was rather conveniently located.

Beka didn't say much just followed the path my eyes had taken moments before. She then started to work on her clothes, getting the muck off. "Thanks," she said, once she was finished, and handed the disk back to me. "Appreciate it. I don't owe you anything, though."

I waved my hand aside. "Look, Cooper, I insulted you, offering a noble last night – I see that now. I was naughty." She glanced over at me sidelong but said nothing. That cursed black cat with the purple eyes came over and stretched himself up to my thigh. He flexed his claw and hooted them into my leggings. "Look here, you, whoever you are, I am _not _a scratching post." I bent down carefully to loosen the cat from my clothes and held him. If this cat ripped my clothes then Kora would give me to the Black God. I rubbed the cat's ears as I looked up at the pretty Pup. "A noble and a half," I offered.

Beka nipped her lip a little then said, "You don't want to know bed enough, I suppose. Pity." Curse her.

"Two silver nobles. It had better be worth it," I said to the tricky little thing. She told me to pay up. Her cat jumped out of my arms and onto her shoulder, giving me the perfect opportunity to slip her the coins. "Interesting cat, he is." I scratched the cat's chin and let the two silver nobles slide into her hands while the people on the street thought I was just petty the cat.

"Rough, sparkling stones, very colorful, tucked in reddish rock like the kind you find all over the Lower City," she told me softly. "My Dog have never seen any like them. We had another stone like these. Crookshank's grandson gave it to his wife, who's a friend of mine. My Dogs will find a mage to see what they are." She stopped, I guessed she was finished.

"Stones that two experienced Dogs can't name? That's a curiosity. This Lower City of your is all tied in knots you know." I looked down at her. "You take care, Cooper, before you get strangled." It would be such a waste of a good face and a well enough body to be killed off. I went on my way down the street while she said sommat to me. I didn't hear it well enough but I knew it was comment on my own.

I kept a good eye on the street, looking at the houses that people rented. I would have to look into this place a little more. Maybe I could keep a close watch on that pretty Pup friend of mine. I stopped a woman on the street. She was holding a babe in her arms while latched onto a child who was trying to get away.

"Who should I look for searching for a place to live in this fine neighborhood?" I asked her.

"The only available place tha' I know of," the woman said. "Is Mistress Trout's lodgin's. I believe what's left is a full house across from Beka's Cooper's boarding house or with the Pup. Either way, theys both Mistress Trout's." I thanked her and let her be on her way. I would have to find Mistress Trout at some point today. Renting a room would be perfect for me and my mots. I would search for the mot soon enough.

I had to get breakfast before Kora and Aniki woke up. I hustled to the Day Market and bought a few things. There was a bit of twisley in my room, yet so I didn't need to get more. When I returned, I kicked the doors and went into my room, like before. The mots came in, looking as if they'd been awake for awhile. Aniki had a fresh sheet of sweat on her, probably from practicing that sword of hers.

"I think I found us a place to live," I told the girls while we ate. "It's on Nipcopper Close, nice neighborhood."

"Is it, now?" Aniki said around a mouthful of apple.

"Indeed," I said to her. "I like the view, myself." I chewed the breakfast turnover in thought. "I'll search for the landlady some time today, before we head off to the Court of Rogue. Maybe we can fill in another job slot." We had been paid handsomely for guarding the place last time.

"Well," Kora said, standing gracefully, her dress flowing around her body. "I'd better put all of my things back in their cases." Oh Kora would unpack all of her things while staying at an inn. I rolled my eyes at her.

Later, about two hours, me and my mots set off to explore more of the city. I was waiting for the Puppy to leave her lodgings so she wouldn't see me striking a deal with her landlady. She would probably give me an earful, so I've learned last night. Maybe she'd enjoy the surprise of us rushers moving in with her. As a Puppy she would probably feel a little disgruntled because we would hide all of our less-than-lawful acts. It was what we were good at.

While we explored more of the city, getting to know it better, Kora stopped to talk to some of the people she recognized from the herbalist shops and met a few new people she could add to her list. She likes to be informed, our Kora does. We picked up something to eat while we toured the city and received some wary looks from some. My rewards were frightening to others – my scars. I prized them, remembering how I received them.

When it had become later in the evening, I departed from my mots and went to Nipcopper Close. Mistress Trout wasn't hard to find once I asked where I could find her. She seemed surprised when I came by to ask for her services. "You're needing a place to live?" she asked, eyeing me suspiciously. My clothes were too nice for her to believe I didn't have a place to live.

"Yes, me and two others," I said. "We were wondering if there was a place we'd be able to rent from you."

"Of course there is," the woman said. "I have one house with one occupant and another with no one in it." She looked at me in the eye this time. "Which do you prefer?"

"I'd like to live in the one with one occupant," I told her. "It'd be nice to get to know some people here, as we just moved here." She seemed to lap up my lies so she told me the details of the boarding home, which was surprisingly a good bargain.

I found Kora and Aniki at the Court of Rogue where Aniki seemed to be talking to the big chief, Dawull. "He's probably offering her a job," said Kora.

I nodded in understand. "I got us a place to live," I told her. She gave me a pleased smile and nodded. I was about to say more when I noticed that Ulsa mot making her way to me. Her eyes were focused on me as she sauntered up to us.

"Rosto, right?" she asked. I nodded. "Let's talk," she pulled me away from Kora who was rolling her eyes. "Hows about you work with me and my crew in Prettybone. We need a man like you in our district. And if pays fairly well. You get a third of your own work, which is better than some other districts, I'd say."

It actually wasn't bad. A third of the money or whatever it was I stole –assuming that she meant stealing. If it were killing, I'd better be paid on a whole different level than a common thief. "I guess a cove needs some work," I said. Ulsa understood that I had accepted her offer. She told me that I would join her tomorrow as today they were due to the Court of Rogue instead of their place in Prettybone.

Kora and Aniki were waiting for me in the end. Aniki seemed amused and displeased at the same time while Kora looked just plain amused. "What?" I asked them.

"I lost," Aniki said. "To that owl-man, Tunstall." Kora smiled openly at Aniki who just glared. She must have teased her. "I got work with Dawull," she informed me.

"I've one with Ulsa," I said to her. "That was fast." My mots nodded. "What of you Kora?"

"I refused my offer," she said. "I'll be around when the two of you are in need but I'm going to stick with my charms and laundry to make money. One of us needs to seem like a good one, right?" she teased. "Rosto found us a place to live."

"It's paid for the first month," I said. "Consider it a gift from me." I never gave gifts so my mots snorted in amusement. They would understand why I was so eager to move to Nipcopper Close the second they saw who we were renting with.

The night dragged. The more I watched this Rogue, the more I disapproved of him. There was something about him that made me want to drive a knife through his heart.


	4. Saturday, April 4, 246

**AN:**_ This week was one of my bad weeks. I worked so much and had so many appointments it was ridiculous. Monday, I had to go to my follow up appointment for my infection (which went away, thankfully), then I told my doctor about something else that is wrong with me (my boss had been telling me to see a doctor about this forever). He told me that I had to get blood work done and he also set up an appointment for an ultrasound to see if I had cysts. That's when he thinks is wrong with me. Cysts. Before the ultrasound, I broke out into a rash. It was fine at first but it spread throughout my entire body. I decided it was time to go to a clinic when it spread to the inside of my mouth. As it turns out, I'm allergic to the medicine they gave me to fight off the infection. Now I have to go see an allergist at some point. I have to go back to the doctor on the 21st to go over the tests to see if I do have cysts. This is a bad month for me and the worst way to start my summer._

_Starting Monday, I will be working 12 hours a day. Hopefully, I will have time to write for you guys._

_Sorry about the long wait and that I didn't get the two chapters up for you in time. These appointments have been sucking the energy and inspiration out of me._

_This chapter like the rest, isn't edited but will be edited once I finish the fanfic. Thank you.  
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**_(Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, the major plot and some of the dialogue but most of the subplots belong to me.) _**

**Saturday April 4, 246**

Morning felt like it snuck up on me. I was tired but then I perked up when I remembered what day it was. It was move in day. Me and my mots were finally having a real place to stay in rather than living from inn to inn. And apparently I wasn't the only one excited. Aniki and Kora barreled through my door before I could get dressed. They had seen my naked on several occasions so I didn't really mind dressing myself before them.

"When?" Aniki asked immediately. She stood there, fully dress with her sword hanging from her side. Her hands were planted firmly on her hips and she glared at me when she realized I was still in bed. "Get up Rosto," she demanded about the throw my covers off.

"I would if you fine mots would shut the door," I said, putting emphasis on my words. "I don't mind you two sneaking peeks but I don't think the innkeeper would like to hear his wife talk about me naked."

Kora rolled her eyes and shut the door so I could dress myself. I didn't take long. It was obvious the mots weren't looking for a show. I threw my items in my packs and made sure everything was out of the room. "Ready," I said. "You ready?" I asked them with a nod.

I received a snort from both mots. "We've been ready since last night," they said. Of course they wanted to pack immediately. Aniki and Kora hated moving from place to place. And staying in an inn wasn't much better. Kora wanted to decorate her room with her herbs and charms, and place magical traps around her room. Innkeepers usually didn't approve of such things because it meant trouble.

Aniki shifted her sword on her belt a little. "Come on Rosto," she said to me, slapping my back. "I need you assistance with something. While Kora distracts the innkeeper and his wife." I gave her a wary gaze. My blond friend was up to something. She dragged me into her room and pointed to the table that was loaded with her bags. "We're taking this."

"You're stealing a table from an inn?" I asked. "You do know how far we have to carry this right?"It was too early in the morning to be lifting heavy objects such as this sturdy wooden table.

Aniki didn't answer. She just raised an eyebrow at me and fingered her sword. I rolled my eyes. "You owe me," I told her. "And we are going to have to take this through the kitchens to a back alley before they come up to check on the room. They won't see us go through there."

"Agreed," Aniki said with a short nod. Me and her each grabbed part of the table and lifted. It wasn't too heavy but I knew that it would start to the longer we held it. I went backwards out the door and into the hall. No one was there. My mots woke up at dawn just to get me out of bed. We went down the stairs and into the hall where I knew the kitchen was at the very end. I thanked Mithros that the door was open. We walked as quietly as we could through the kitchen and out the door. The alley was empty save for the garbage and stray animals that scavenged.

I set the table down, so did Aniki. "We'll just have to wait for Kora," I said. "Hopefully, she grabs my things."

Kora appeared next to me a few ticks later carry her bags and mine. She threw her bags on the table and opted to carry mine. "They're lighter in weight," she claimed. I wouldn't doubt it. The mots didn't know how to pack lightly. I directed them through town backwards, trying not to hit anyone. Thankfully, they moved when they saw us coming. Of course the stupid pigs and stray dogs didn't move and I almost tripped over them. I am glad my reflexes are sharp.

We got to Nipcopper Close and showed them the house we were renting with Beka. They didn't know we were renting with Beka yet. They were going to find out sooner rather than later. Mistress Trout had opened the door for us once she saw us passing her window. I thanked her kindly. She ran up the stairs and opened one door up there and two more below.

As Aniki and I were making our way up the stair, a box fell and narrowly missed Kora. She shrieked in surprise causing me to cringe a little. A door opened up stairs, I heard it. Aniki looked over when she was on the landing and grinned at the person. I guessed it was Beka. Who else would it be?

Her head snapped back to me. I was trying to grab the box that had fallen. "Rosto, leave that box! Kora can get the curst thing. If you try to grab it, you'll dump everything else down the stairs." She continued backing up. She turned her head to Beka. "I think we overloaded it." We finally managed to shifted up further up the stairs when I came in view of Beka.

I nearly dropped the table at the sight of her in nothing but breeches and a breast band. I held back a grin and said, "Told you I liked the look of the street. And here's this place, with three sets of rooms nice and empty, for cheap. I rented 'em last night – me and Kora have the two just downstairs, and you've got Aniki for a neighbor." I could have been her neighbor but I opted for the room below hers. She probably thought little of me as it was.

Beka stood for a moment before her eyes widened and looked at her attire. She shrieked a little and slammed her door. I let out a little smile and shook my head. "I see why you enjoyed the view here," Aniki teased. "She looks rather nice without clothes on, doesn't she?" I rolled my eyes at her. "Fit for a mot too."

"She's a puppy," I said, "She has to be fit to take on the Lower City. We've seen plenty of the crooks in the last three nights. We know how large they come and how strong they are." She was right though, our Puppy was fit. I could see the lines of her muscles on both her stomach and her arms. She was fairly defined and solid looking. It's hard to find a body like that on a pretty gixie. "Now lets get this thing in your room."

We finally got the table in her room. I grabbed my things from Kora while she grabbed a few of her boxes and bags and went do put them in her room. It didn't take long for me to arrange all of my items. To be honest, it was the first time I unpacked fully since we left Scanra. Corus felt like a permanent place of living for me.

Kora entered my room, as I had left the door open. She smiled when she saw that I had unpacked everything. "Aniki and I are going to rush to the day market to grab something to share with our housemate. We figured we should be neighborly with her as we are going to live with her. Come up soon," she said. The mots left, leaving me to my own business. My own business consisted of laying in my newly made bed, staring at the ceiling. I could faintly hear Beka walking around above me.

Kora and Aniki returned then went straight up to Beka's room. I could hear muffled mumbling of the three mots. They muffled talk continued before a shout rang clear throughout the lodging house. "Beka," it was a cove, a young one by the sound of his voice. I wondered if Beka had a lover. The thought caused a pang of envy. There was more than one set of footsteps thundering up the stairs while they yelled for Beka, telling her that she needed to spend time with friends. The yelling and the thundering stopped short. They must have reached Beka's rooms where Aniki and Kora were talking. I got up and went out quickly to get sommat to bring for breakfast. I quickly bought some soft cheese and ran back to the house.

I made my way quietly up the stairs. I heard Aniki's voice ring through the landing. "We're moving in, so we invited Beka to breakfast," Aniki said. "That's my friend Kora on the floor. She's living downstairs now. I'm Aniki. We met Beka at the Rogue's Court."

"You were there when Crookshank pitched his fit?" asked a cove, sound older than the cove shouting for Beka. "The word is he tried to kill the Rogue. Some Scanran pretty boy saved ol' Kayfer's life."

A pretty boy? Is that what they call me? "That 'pretty boy' would be me," I announced in a slow voice from the doorway. No one had seen me walked up to the door. Everyone turned to me and stared. I heard a few _mrts_ from Beka's odd cat. "I brought fresh food," I told them. I found a place for myself on the floor. After we all sat down, we started eating on the floor of Beka's room. We had introduced ourselves to one another and started making small talk.

"So why do they call you the Piper?" the gixie named Verene asked after I had been introduced. She sat right next to me. By her body language, she seemed to have her eye on me.

"I play well enough, don't I, girls?" I asked while Aniki and Kora nodded. I smiled tightly. To be honest, I hadn't played in a while. It brought back memories of Scanra but I would play for them this time. I pulled a flute from my tunic. I carried it with me in case I felt the urge to play it. I played while Verene sang and Kora danced, her eyes focused on Ersken. Beka seemed impressed with my playing. I felt cocky when I saw. The morning was filled with chatter. I was surprised that we fit well with the other side of the law. In fact, I felt a strange friendship start.

Phelan and I discovered that we met the same wandering mage in different towns. Kora and Beka talked more about herbs while Ersken sat with them and listened to their conversation, throwing in his two coppers here and there. Kora kept glancing at him from the corner of her eye, obviously interested in the young cove. Lucky cove, he didn't know what kind of woman Kora was. She would break him from his shyness. Verene and Aniki talked about weapons, mostly Aniki did the talking while Verene listened and asked questions. These Puppies, and Dog, didn't seem to mind that they were speaking with rushers. They were relaxed while most Dogs would have been alert.

We had talked the morning away and decided to get some lunch. Beka and Ersken were making the rounds to the market which seemed to make Kora pout a little. I was feeling a bit jealous myself. They returned with sausages, cheese and spinach tarts and they were smiling. This didn't help that feeling. The only thing keeping me from scowling at Ersken was their friendly distance that they had.

Lunch ended up much like breakfast, talking, eating, laughing but then the Puppies had to get ready for baton practice and Aniki and I had to go to our rightful districts. Kora stayed behind and said she needed to start unpacking.

"Nice choice of living," Aniki said. "Did a pretty Puppy happen to lure you there? She doesn't seem very interested in you, you know?" I pursed my lips but didn't answer. That was probably why I wanted to be around her so much but I didn't say that aloud. Aniki would have told Kora and it would end up with me getting teased endlessly. "Be careful with Beka, Rosto. I've heard things. She will amount to sommat soon. I've no doubt she'd hobble you if she had to."

"I know that," I said. "And she's just someone who seems like a good person to have as a friend." Aniki held her tongue. She waved goodbye to me when I crossed Market Bridge and found Ulsa's favorite tavern, where all of her rushers were. She greeted me with a nodded of her head. I replied with much of the same and went to find a place to sit.

I decided on table with two other men sitting. "Hello," I greeted gruffly as I sat down. My eyes scanned the tavern. "Any interesting news reach your ears? I'm ready for sommat to lighten my day." Of course this was an act.

The two men looked at me surprised and shook their heads. "It's getting rather dry with gossip lately," one of the men said. "My wife calls it a drought, if you will. I usually get my whispers from her. I'm Paul," said the man holding out his hand for me to shake.

I grasped it. "Rosto the Piper," I told him. "New to this city as of four days ago."

"And you already made it into Ulsa's hands," the other man said. "Impressive. I'm James," said the other man. The two men I was sitting with looked a lot alike. They both had the same colored floppy brown hair with matching eyes. For having lack of another color on them, they seemed to do well with the ladies, from what I could tell. The bar wenches were eyeing them like a piece of meat. "I'm his older brother," James clarified.

I nodded in understanding. "How'd the two of you get looped into Ulsa's rope?"

"Well," Paul said, rubbing the back of his neck. I needed money so I started stealing. Ulsa then asked me to work with her. She said I had potential. Of course, James was already in this way before I was. Mayhap she knew that we were related." They looked awfully alike, it was hard to miss the similarities. Even their faces structures were the same. James and Paul told me a lot about themselves. To me they seemed rather close. We then decided that we would make a quick round through Prettybone, to steal sommat. We robbed three people, quick and easy. The brothers had fairly deft hands and practically blended in with the shadows while I glowed under the street lanterns and the moon.

We went back and gave Ulsa our work for the day. She gave us our rightful amount for the job and sent one of her rushers back to store away the rest of the coin. We decided to spend the rest of the night inside when we heard someone barrel through the tavern doors.

"There's a brawl," the cove said. "Rovers Street, as usual. I hear Mattes Tunstall and Clara Goodwin are the only Dogs caught up in the brawl along with their Puppy." There was a sinister laugh that echoed around the rushers. "My bet's the Puppy don't live to see tomorrow." There was a round of agreement.

"I bet she will," I said. Beka was a determined gixie. She wouldn't get killed in a brawl so quickly into her career. "I bet two silver nobles on her." I held up the nobles. The announcer threw in his nobles too while someone recorded the bets. Two men went out to hear updates on the brawl. It seems in the end, I won. Beka was injured but she was alive. I collected my winnings. The brothers found my confidence in Beka amusing but they didn't question me. That was the thing with these two rushers, they never asked many questions. They just nodded and sat quietly. I could get along with these two.

I went home, pleased with my winnings. We had made several bets tonight and I had won a fair bit of them. When I made it to the lodging house, I slipped in through the back and to my room. I went through the usual procedure of checking for intruders but my room was empty. Kora came out to say hello. She gave me a smile before she wiggled her fingers at me and said goodnight. She made no intention of showing that she was going to crawl into my bed. I knew I lost Kora as a bed friend the minute Ersken walked into her view.

At least I have Aniki.


	5. Sunday, April 5, 246

**I'm losing all inspiration to write. My days are so busy. Anyway, sorry about this chapter. It isn't my best. I've been having a hard time writing without it feeling like I'm getting my teeth pulled out. Summer just drags me down. Well, this summer is, at least.  
**

**And this is extremely short. Again, I'm sorry.  
**

**Sunday April 5, 246**

I was a little eager to go to breakfast but I lingered in my room until I heard Kora go upstairs. When I got home, Aniki told me the details of what happened at Barrel's Bottom and how Dawull wouldn't let anyone help the other rushers. Aniki had been secretly glad at that. She didn't want to have to bring any harm to our Puppy, not like she would attack her anyway. She knew better than that.

When I arrived with more food, I saw her feeding them damn pigeons. Filthy little birds, they were but Beka treated them like pets. It was when she turned to face me, I saw her bruises. They were nasty yet very impressive. She didn't seem to be complaining about them.

"I'll kiss them and make them better," I said, fully intending on making her uncomfortable.

She moved fluidly into a defensive position as she glared at me. I don't know if she realized she glared but I felt a slight chill to it. "Try and I'll bruise you," she said to me. "Then Aniki and Kora could kiss _you _all better." Feisty gixie, isn't she? I held back my grin.

Kora just smiled and said, "Aniki can do the kisses." She waved me off with words. She was through with me, I knew that. With Ersken around, Kora wasn't my mot anymore. I still had yet to get used to it. "Rosto, don't pull Beka's tail. She doesn't like it."

Suddenly Pounce weaved between my legs, reaching up with his paws and meowing at me to get my attention. I sighed. "I was just being_ friendly_," I said. "Modern times are cruel when a cove can't be friendly." I stepped around the cat and found a spot on the floor cloth. "See if I bring you a treat tomorrow, Master Cat." Pounce's whiskers twitched as though he were going to smile. I looked up at Beka. "Is there a tomorrow? I think this little breakfast idea is quite nice, even with threats and the nasty birds coming and going."

I don't dislike the birds as much as I say I do. They are just everywhere all of the time. They leave their droppings and feathers about the place. Of course, they were just stupid animals; they didn't know not to do that in someone's lodgings.

"Not tomorrow, Tuesday's my day off. I leave early to visit my family. And tomorrow is our day in Magistrate's Court. It starts the hour after sunrise," she explained.

"Ugh," I think I may have grimaced at the though of the early beginning and sitting in the Magistrate's Court until Mithro's knows. "They don't pay you enough, sweetheart." She scowled at me but it wasn't a real one. That chill wasn't there like before.

Verene and Ersken came in with sausage rolls and a mouthful of talk. Some moneybag was sleeping with a cove that wasn't her husband and was caught. Another mot had twins in the Flash District and there would be a celebration. It would be rather crowded in the Flash District to consider stealing from anyone.

"Remember Alacia?" Verene asked Beka. She turned to us right after and explained, "She's another Puppy named in tribute to His Majesty's first Queen. Well, till yesterday she was on Day Watch in Unicorn. Then my lord of Olau got word that his youngest and only son has been flirtin' with a pretty Puppy."

"Fast work," Aniki said with respect. "You lot have only been on duty, what, five days?"

"Four, not counting today," Ersken corrected.

Verene continued, obviously displeased with the interruption. "_Anyway, _the lad's Noble father pitched a fit at the Unicorn Kennel and they switched Alacia with Clarke. He was on Night Watch at Prettybone. So now she's on Night Watch."

I rubbed my chin. This gixie must be a pretty thing. "So this Alacia is a sweet armful? I'll look out for her, Dog or not." If she is as pretty as said, then it wouldn't do any harm would it?

Aniki thrust her elbow into me. "Don't you have enough women in your life, Rosto?" Does she not realize that I lost one mot? Probably not yet.

I looked over at Beka, just to ruffle her a bit. "Not without Cooper, I don't."

Erksen smirked at me. "Cooper will never go with anyone crooked," he said. For a moment, I thought it was a challenge but he continued. "A rusher was mean to her mother. She's never forgiven them.

I wanted to catch her eye to see if it were true. She ignored me for her pigeons. She ignored _me_ for birds. My pride as a man was wounded because she decided to pay attention to her pigeons while I was trying to pull her tail a little more and maybe flirt a little.

Beka leaned a little toward the dirty bird. Now this time I'm not trying to knock her birds, this bird was dirty. Covered in muck. She leaned toward it, her head tilted to one side a little as though it were whispering into her ear. Her eyes fell out of focus. She was no longer listening to us.

Verene was talking again. It was like she never stopped, honestly. I really wonder if she had time to eat between each piece of information she shared. Though, I admit, she did carry good gossip from time to time. After she finished with her latest bit she turned to Beka, who was still listening to her bird. "Beka," she called. Beka snapped to attention. Verene and her started talking about a Dog who had been doused. He taught them about weighted dice and apparently died with weighted dice in his mouth.

As the sun rose higher, we talked of other things, many other things until the room got warm and Beka could no longer keep herself upright. She had lost a lot of blood from what I heard. Kora ordered her to nap and make a few coins by offering to wash their clothes. Of course, she was cheap on them, being friends and all. Me and Aniki cleaned up the remains of breakfast from her floor and put whatever was left in her cabinets. Beka wouldn't have been able to do it, not with her being so lightheaded. I know what it's like to lose a lot of blood.

"Don't forget your wash, Rosto," Kora said to me. I went to my room and gathered all of the things I needed washed, setting it a basket by her door. I knew better than to walk in her room. She's a mage and had traps set around her room before I left for a stroll in the market.

When I went to see Ulsa at the Court of Rogue, she quickly rushed everyone out to go back to her district in Prettybone. She told us that we all had jobs to do. James and Paul were waiting for me. We had become fairly good comrades, if I do say so myself but I knew better than to trust anyone after a day of knowing them. We did a few thefts and a robbery, just petty jobs until we came back and Ulsa called me forward.

"One of my guards had to disappear," she told me with a wicked gleam in her eyes. I nearly groaned aloud but I kept my dismay at bay. I knew my fun with Paul and James wasn't going to last long. Ulsa seemed to want to keep an eye on me for awhile. By the way she kept checking to see if I was standing next to her was a good hint enough. It paid well at the very end at least. I never asked why her guard had to disappear, unlucky cove. I had a feeling the answer wouldn't settle the squirm I felt just being around her.

Many years in this line of work, I knew that feeling well and I tried to heed it as much as possible.

I stayed by Ulsa's side all night until she warmed up to me a bit. Whether she trusted me or not was hard to decide. Her eyes were blank and but her expression was neutral. It would probably be best for me to keep an eye on her.

When I was finally about to leave, I went to James and Paul who were having a bit to drink. Knowing the time, it was barley water. Even we rushers have to draw the line at some point. We couldn't do our jobs while drunk and half on our toes. We might as well hobble ourselves and walk to the kennel in a single file line.

"Headed out?" Paul asked.

"I'll give it one more time around," I told them. "Just to end the night well, at least."

The coves laughed and stood from their spot. We made our way around Prettybone, being careful of the Dogs. I didn't manage to see that gixie Alacia but I wasn't so broken up about that. We managed to steal a heavy coin purse from an even heavier man. He probably couldn't even see the purse if he looked down, his gut stuck out way past his belt.

"I think that man was well feed enough for the whole Cesspool," James said. "Mayhap we'll be doing some good to him." I laughed and nodded before I took my share and ran back home. Aniki wasn't home yet. She was probably drinking with Reed Kate and Bold Brian. They had become friends, in a way. Aniki wasn't so sure of them. Trusting wasn't our best trait. We learned the hard way in Scanra. Yet we liked our Puppies well enough, that's for sure.


End file.
